6th May 2022

Did you know there are “Red Indians” in one of the stained-glass windows in the church? No, not really, but one of our sons, as a small child, came home asking about them.

The stained-glass windows, especially the huge Tyndale and Bunyan windows are an unexpected glory of our church sanctuary. Many Baptist churches have patterned coloured glass in their windows but few have picture stained-glass. I know none with either the quantity or quality of ours.

The Tyndale and Bunyan windows tell stories like the great medieval windows of (say) Fairford in Gloucestershire which told Bible stories to help a largely illiterate congregation. Ours remind us of a man who went to his death for trying to give us the Bible in English and a great Puritan who wrote his allegory of the Christian life for us.

We are blessed with a beautiful and practical area built primarily for worship. Beautiful as many much older parish churches are but with space unhindered by fixed furniture, stone tombs, awkward pillars etc. Practical and flexible in that we can rearrange furniture, host concerts and drama, make tea and coffee, get wheelchairs in and out etc. But unlike some modern churches it does not resemble a village hall, a hospital waiting area or a somewhat scruffy youth club. (I won’t name that one!)

Let us give thanks for those who rebuilt in faith after the bombing of 1940 and gave us such a beautiful and useful sanctuary.

(Have a good look at the windows sometime and see if you can find the “Red Indians”)

Margaret Clements